by Laura Klappenbach in About Animals / Wildlife
Something dramatic happened to a lot of very big animals between 20,000 and 10,000 years ago. During this time period, 34 major groups of large animals died-out. Among those that disappeared, were ten species that weighted more than a ton. Giant sloths, mammoths, mastodons, giant kangaroos, and moa were just a few of the fast-vanishing fauna.
It has long been clear that these large animals, also known as "megafauna", perished in a short period of time. But scientists disagree about what caused t........ Read more »
Gill, J., Williams, J., Jackson, S., Lininger, K., & Robinson, G. (2009) Pleistocene Megafaunal Collapse, Novel Plant Communities, and Enhanced Fire Regimes in North America. Science, 326(5956), 1100-1103. DOI: 10.1126/science.1179504
Johnson, C. (2009) Megafaunal Decline and Fall. Science, 326(5956), 1072-1073. DOI: 10.1126/science.1182770
by Reinaldo Lopes in Chapéu, Chicote e Carbono-14
O sumiço de dezenas de gêneros de grandes mamíferos americanos (e de TODOS os bichos com mais de uma tonelada) do nosso continente provavelmente é o maior dos mistérios do fim do Pleistoceno, a Era do Gelo. Uma pesquisa recente parecia ter dado um jeito no mistério -- mas só parecia. O estudo deixa em aberto tantas perguntas quanto as que responde, ou até mais.
Que fezes, diria você. E, sim, fezes aqui é a palavra apropriada, porque a equipe capitaneada por Jacquelyn L. Gill, da Uni........ Read more »
Gill, J., Williams, J., Jackson, S., Lininger, K., & Robinson, G. (2009) Pleistocene Megafaunal Collapse, Novel Plant Communities, and Enhanced Fire Regimes in North America. Science, 326(5956), 1100-1103. DOI: 10.1126/science.1179504
Johnson, C. (2009) Megafaunal Decline and Fall. Science, 326(5956), 1072-1073. DOI: 10.1126/science.1182770
by César Tomé López in Experientia docet
Cada vez que los humanos modernos alcanzaron un nuevo continente en su expansión a partir de su África original hace 50.000 años, ya fuese Australia, Europa o las Américas, toda la gran fauna desapareció rápidamente. Esta prueba circunstancial que aporta el registro fósil sugiere que el primer logro de los humanos al llegar a un nuevo territorio era cazar todos sus animales de gran tamaño hasta la extinción. Pero los apologetas de la especie humana han intentado encontrar un chivo expi........ Read more »
Gill, J., Williams, J., Jackson, S., Lininger, K., & Robinson, G. (2009) Pleistocene Megafaunal Collapse, Novel Plant Communities, and Enhanced Fire Regimes in North America. Science, 326(5956), 1100-1103. DOI: 10.1126/science.1179504
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